Skeletons found in Soviet Afghan prison

An underground prison containing hundreds of bodies has been discovered in Afghanistan.

The prison, a former military barracks on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, dates from the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, officials say.

A senior police officer in Kabul says that many of the bodies were found blindfolded with arms tied.



"This is a big mass grave from the Russian days," said police chief Gen Ali Shah Paktiwal, adding that there were hundreds of dead bodies inside.

"There are at least 15 rooms full of dead bodies," he said, adding that as the base was large there could be further rooms yet to be discovered underground.

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